WCC Spanish Red Wine Blind Dinner
@ The Chef's Table in Café Capriccio,
Albany, NY (11/20/2025)


My Albany group met in the private dining room (aka The Chef's Table) in Café Capriccio to taste Spanish Red Wines. The wines were blind to the group, but not to me and one other person who had had organized the flights.

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The menu and place setting.


Chef/Owner Jim Rua and his staff prepared a fabulous meal in his open kitchen. Those who know the Capital District dining scene know that Jim Rua has run Café Capriccio as one of the very best restaurants for almost four decades. At 83 years old, Jim is still killing it in the kitchen. Amazing.

The lovely Jemma was our server for the evening.
Jim was assisted in the kitchen by Mike.

Jim and Mike set up our first course:


Flight 1: Rioja Selección Especial
Caldo Gallego (Lusty Galician Porridge).
  1. 2001 Bodegas Muga Rioja Selección Especial - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
    [Slow-O'ed for 11 hours, then double-decanted for one hour.] Sweet red fruit. Tart at first, but kept opening up. Yummy. (89 points)
  2. 2004 Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
    [Double-decanted at 8am for 8 hours.] Juicy, red fruit. Big and juicy in the mouth. Young, but gaining some complexity over time. (88 points)
  3. 2009 Bodegas Muga Rioja Selección Especial Reserva - Spain, La Rioja, Rioja
    [Double-decanted around 3pm.] More black fruit than red. Long, silky, and delicious. Harmonious. (93 points)

Flight 2: Rioja Reserva
Pan con Tomate (Flat Bread with Roasted Tomato) and Barenjenas a la Plancha, Alcachofas, e Pequillo (Eggplant with Artichokes & Pequillo Peppers).
  1. 2005 Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
    [Double-decanted about 45 minutes the night before, then another 25 minutes around 8am.] Black fruit. Young and tannic. Balanced and complex. (92 points)
  2. 2005 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España) Rioja Imperial Gran Reserva - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
    [Double-decanted at 8am for 8 hours.] Black fruit nose. Smooth sweet fruit. Lovely. (93 points)
  3. 2016 Bodegas Muga Rioja Prado Enea Gran Reserva - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
    [Double-decanted for 45 minutes at 3 pm.] Muted nose of black fruit and spice. Rich black fruit in the mouth with a long finish. Lovely. (92 points)

Flight 3: Priorat
Pimiento Relleno de Cordero con Fideos, al Vasco (Lamb Stuffed Pepper with Pasta, Basque Style)
  1. 2000 Celler Vall Llach Priorat Porrera Vi de Vila - Spain, Catalunya, Priorat
    [Double-decanted for a half hour around 5pm.] Gorgeous nose of tar and black fruit. Juicy and complex with a long finish. (93 points)
  2. 2009 Clos Mogador Priorat - Spain, Catalunya, Priorat
    [Double-decanted around 4pm.] Smoky red fruit nose. Big, rich, luscious. (92 points)
  3. 2010 Clos Mogador Priorat - Spain, Catalunya, Priorat
    [Double-decanted around 3pm.] Juicy red fruit nose. Complex but still young and tannic. Delicious. (91 points)

Flight 4: Ribera del Duero
Cuscús con Pato (Duck with Chicken Sausage & Couscous).
Second photo by Severn.
  1. 1994 Bodegas Ismael Arroyo Ribera del Duero Gran Reserva Val Sotillo - Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
    [Double-decanted around 3pm.] The cork was fully saturated. Slightly dirty red fruit nose. Tart, dry, sour. Interesting, but either flawed or over the hill. Not rated.
  2. 2002 Dominio Pingus Ribera del Duero Flor de Pingus - Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
    [Double-decanted for 2 hours around 3pm.] Bright red fruit. Sweet and sour red fruit with some tannin. Interesting. (92 points)

Dessert
Torta de Chocolate sin Harina (Flourless Chocolate Cake).

Conclusion

Another wonderful dinner with Chef Rua and the WCC gang!

I don't have a lot of expertise in these wines, so Matthew put together the flights. With the exception of the one off bottle (4.1), every one of these was tasty and very drinkable. But none of them really excited me or made me think.


WOTN Voting (3pts each for #1, 2pts for #2, 1pt for #3)

RankPtsNo.Wine
1153.32010 Clos Mogador Priorat
2111.32009 Bodegas Muga Rioja Selección Especial Reserva
3(tie)71.12001 Bodegas Muga Rioja Selección Especial
3(tie)72.12005 Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial
562.32016 Bodegas Muga Rioja Prado Enea Gran Reserva
651.22004 Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial
7(tie)42.22005 C.V.N.E. Rioja Imperial Gran Reserva
7(tie)43.22009 Clos Mogador Priorat
9(tie)33.12000 Celler Vall Llach Priorat Porrera Vi de Vila
9(tie)34.22002 Dominio Pingus Ribera del Duero Flor de Pingus


People Pix



My tasting notes posted from CellarTracker.

Salil's notes on this dinner.


 

All original content © Ken Vastola